Secret Garden Storyboard
Martha meets Mary in her new room. Image by Naomie Kremer with costume designs by Kristi Johnson.

Secret Garden Storyboard
Martha meets Mary in her new room. Image by Naomie Kremer with costume designs by Kristi Johnson.

Photo: S.F. Opera

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The Secret Garden. Image created by Naomie Kremer.

The Secret Garden. Image created by Naomie Kremer.

Photo: S.F. Opera

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Composer Nolan Gasser (middle) from Petaluma has a world premiere of "Secret Garden" coming next month to San Francisco, Calif., as he sits on the set before rehearsal on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. He is also the chief musicologist emeritus of Pandora Radio. less

Composer Nolan Gasser (middle) from Petaluma has a world premiere of "Secret Garden" coming next month to San Francisco, Calif., as he sits on the set before rehearsal on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. He is ... more

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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The Nikon Elipse Ti microscope recording a cell culture plate at Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, February 8, 2013. The microscope helps scientists study neurons in real time to figure out the mechanics of neurodegenerative disorders. less

The Nikon Elipse Ti microscope recording a cell culture plate at Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, February 8, 2013. The microscope helps scientists study neurons in real time to figure ... more

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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Nolan Gasser's 'Secret Garden' blooms

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Pandora Radio's "chief musicologist" - the man who created the algorithm to make a computer know in advance what you want to listen to - is now getting kids to listen to opera.

"It's the perfect operatic vehicle; it has rich characters and a well-defined story of transformation," said Gasser, whose original works have been performed in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, La Salle Pleyel in Paris and at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. For the launch of NASA's Fermi Space Telescope in 2008, he wrote "GLAST Prelude," which was performed by the American Brass Quintet.

"Like all good stories, 'The Secret Garden' stars children who lose their mothers, and the central question becomes, 'How do they fill that void?' " he said.

For "The Secret Garden," he's taking a cue from Pixar movies, which move both children and adults, sometimes for different reasons.

Unlike some film and stage adaptations that have strayed from the plot, Gasser is sticking to the story line written by Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1910.

Mary, a privileged and spoiled girl, is sent to live with her reclusive, widowed uncle after her parents die. Through her friendship with his servants, she discovers the neglected garden on the property. As she plants seeds and brings it back to life, she re-energizes her morose uncle and encourages his invalid son to walk again.

"Mother Nature is the great healer - that's the essence of it," said Gasser, who attends opera rehearsals and occasionally assists the director in guiding the young singers through their scenes.

Two years in the making, "The Secret Garden" is among seven new operas that San Francisco Opera Director David Gockley has commissioned since he started in 2006.

Gasser says it is one of his most difficult yet rewarding musical endeavors. And his list of projects is long.

An expert in Renaissance music with a doctorate in musicology from Stanford, Gasser recently wrote the orchestral work "Sonoma Overture" for the Santa Rosa Symphony to celebrate the opening of Weill Hall at the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University.

The father of two is also in the middle of writing a book and a musical, and when he can swing it, gigging at Yoshi's or Bay Area jazz festivals with his band, the San Francisco Jazz Quartet, which released its debut album in 2012, "Ode to Swing."

His musical is an adaptation of the quirky 1993 film "Benny and Joon."

And his book is about musical taste, based on the combination of science and musical theory he used to map out the Music Genome Project for Pandora Radio.

Basically, he's explaining the inner workings of his musical ear - one that can tease out melody, harmony, rhythm, repetition, form, instruments, timbre and hundreds of other characteristics of song that he then categorized into listening preferences.

"Everyone asks me about Pandora," he said, "so it's time to write the book."

If you go

The Secret Garden: Exploration Workshop: A preshow interactive family journey through the themes, story and characters of "The Secret Garden." 3:30 and 5 p.m. Saturday and March 9. UC Berkeley Alumni House. sfopera.com/gardenworkshop.

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